


Cow Chop Cabin

by brutalitytailor



Category: Cow Chop, The Creatures (Youtube RPF)
Genre: Coming Out, Confusion, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, ImmortalHD, M/M, NovaHD - Freeform, UberHaxorNova - Freeform, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-16 16:02:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7274557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brutalitytailor/pseuds/brutalitytailor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Cow Chop boys (minus Brett) go up into the mountains of Colorado to spend a few weeks at a cabin. Aleks' girlfriend has just dumped him and he's feeling pretty down, but at the same time, he's having strange feelings for James.</p><p>There aren't enough Cow Chop/Creatures fanfics on this website, so I decided to write my own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breakup Blues

Chapter 1 - Aleks

“Mishka, chill the fuck out, would you?” I sighed, shoving another shirt into my duffel bag. She had seen me move her leash toward the door earlier, a tale-tell sign that she’d be going somewhere. Therefore, she’d been driving me crazy since, barking and beating her tail against the floor and running back and forth between rooms.

I was packing for the vacation trip that the Cow Chop boys and I were going on. It was Brett who had suggested it, after a particularly stressful day of torturing each other in a video. James had immediately backed the idea, and the rest of us agreed eventually. James booked us a cabin up in the mountains, far away from everything and everyone else. We had filmed things way in advance and set them up to release when they were supposed to.

I had packed a lot of long sleeved shirts, pants, and hoodies. While it was relatively hot in Littleton, it was still freezing cold up in the mountains. I was bringing Mishka (of course), and James was going to bring Ein. Joe had been thrilled to hear both were coming.

I was thrilled, of course, to be spending a few weeks with my best friends. However, Amelia, my girlfriend of only a few months, had dumped me, plain and simple, over the phone the night before.

“You spend way too much time at work, Aleks. And you spend way too much time with James.” I suppose my news about the trip had put these thoughts over the edge, and she decided to end it.

That being said, I had to force myself out of bed to avoid laying under the covers and moping for the entire day. James was picking me up at two and it was already one thirty.

I finally finished packing my bag, nearly having to sit on top of it to get it to zip. I lugged it down the stairs and plopped it next to the front door. Mishka raced down after me, picking her leash up in her mouth and running with it. I rolled my eyes and moved into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and leaned against the counter, glancing out the window.

I thought briefly about Amelia’s reasoning. Sure, I had been spending a lot of time at work. But now that we were a sole channel, we had a lot of work to put in to make a name for ourselves.  
And I didn’t spend too much time with James… right?

I racked my brain, adding up all the time I’d spent at his house playing CS:GO. All the times we’d gone to dinner. The trips to the dog park.

Okay… maybe I had been spending a lot of time with James lately. After all, he was my best friend. But still, I put in time with Amelia, hadn’t I?

I’d apparently been standing at the counter thinking for a while, because a honk outside the house made me jump. Mishka let out a bark at the front door.

I raced through the house, grabbing my last-minute things (phone, phone charger, laptop, keys) and shoved them in my backpack. I hooked Mishka’s leash onto her collar and grabbed my duffel bag. She was dancing with excitement as soon as the door opened. I made sure to lock it behind me.

James’s car was sitting the driveway. Joe’s car was sitting in the street. I walked over to James’s. He’d popped the trunk already, so I slung my duffel bag and backpack in and slammed it shut. I peeked into the backseat window as I passed. Aron had claimed the entire backseat, stretched out across all three seats and already asleep with Ein smushed into the back of his legs. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Mishka hopped in and settled herself on the floor, sniffing at Ein.

“Heyo, Aleksandr.” James greeted from the front seat. I saluted, closing the backseat door. I popped open the passenger side door and jumped in, closing the door behind me in one swift motion.

“I didn’t know Trevor and Joe were taking another car.” I commented, buckling my seatbelt.

“Yeah, Trevor complained about being smushed in with the dogs and I figured he was probably right, so Joe offered to take them in his car. It’ll probably be beneficial anyways, seeing as we have to have somewhere to fit groceries.” James replied, backing out of the driveway. Joe and Trevor followed behind.

We settled into comfortable silence. James had the radio on, playing one of his CD’s extremely softly, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

“So how is Amelia?” James asked, keeping his eyes on the road. A stab of sadness went through my chest and I looked out the window, trying to keep my emotions in check.

“She actually dumped my ass last night.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Over the phone.”

Silence settled back over us for a minute. I refused to turn and look at James, but I could feel him glancing at me.

“I’m sorry. That sucks.” he said quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows. This was kind of unusual for James. I figured he’d rub it in my face or call her a bitch or something. He wasn’t one to be heartfelt. Or apologize.

I shrugged one shoulder.

“Did she give a reason?” he asked.

“Said I spent too much time at work. And with you.” I replied. More awkward silence.

“Well, this is a great start to a road trip.” Aron said groggily from the backseat.


	2. Arriving at the Cabin

Chapter 2 - James

Aleks was acting funny. And not ha-ha funny. Funny as in he wasn't being himself. He hadn't smiled since he’d gotten in the car, and he wasn't up to his usual hijinks.

We’d stopped for lunch and we were about half an hour away from the cabin. Mishka and Ein, having been walked and given water, had settled back down, Ein in Aron’s lap and Mishka laid across the other two seats.

Aleks was staring out the window, watching the landscape go by. I frowned. He’d split from girls before, but he’d never shown signs of being upset about it like he was now. Amelia didn't seem that different from his other girlfriends, but then again, I'd only met her once. She could have been special to him.

“We should get the stuff to make s’mores when we get the groceries. You said the cabin had a fireplace, right?” Aron asked from the backseat.

“It does, indeed. I think s’mores sound good as fuck.” I agreed, glad for the topic of conversation. Aleks made a noise of agreement.

A beep sounded behind me and I looked up in time to see Joe and Trevor speeding ahead of us. Joe had his window down, waving wildly. His hair blew crazily all over the place. I wondered what the excitement was, confused until I realized the sign for the cabin was straight ahead. I got over behind Joe, letting him go first and turn at the sign.

The cabin was magnificent as it came into view a few minutes later. It was even better than the pictures I’d seen online. Tall trees surrounded it, giving it the feeling of coziness and security. There was no one for miles. Behind the house was a big backyard and a hill that led down to a dock that sat on a small lake-pond type thing. The house itself was beautiful, all dark wood, with big bay windows.

Joe and Trevor were already jumping out of the car, leaving their suitcases behind to run into the house. Aron was popping the door open as soon as I stopped, leaving both dogs behind and making a beeline for the house. I chuckled, taking my seat belt off. Beside me, Aleks hadn’t moved. For a second, I considered leaving his ass in the car and taking off to claim a room.

Instead, I sighed and settled back in my seat.

“Aleks, what’s up?”

“Hmm?” He looked at me. I could suddenly see the bags under his eyes. Had he even slept the night before?

“You’ve been quiet this entire time. Before, you said you were going torture Aron all the way here.” I countered. He shrugged one shoulder.

“Tired, is all. I was up late recording.” he unbuckled his seatbelt, seemingly unwilling to talk about it anymore. He climbed out of the seat and went to the back, attaching Mishka’s leash and leading her toward the house. Ein, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to jump down without hurting herself, stayed put, watching them go.

“Good girl.” I murmured, getting out of the car. I picked her up and set her back down on the ground, not bothering with the leash. If Mishka was going, Ein would follow. Sure enough, she waddled after Aleks and Mishka, sniffing a little on the way.

Inside, everyone had already picked rooms. There were five of us and four bedrooms.

Meaning…

“Looks like we’re sharing.” Aleks sighed at the bottom of the stairs.

“Aw, look at that! You n’ me, bedroom buddies.” I elbowed him in the ribs. He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

We ascended the stairs and found the last empty room. At least they’d had the decency to give us the room with bunk beds, I guess. They were full-sized mattresses too, instead of twin-sized. Plenty of room for me to spread out.

Mishka and Ein escaped the room to go sniff the whole place out, leaving Aleks and I standing the bedroom alone. I walked over the window, glancing out. It overlooked the lake-pond and the backyard. The water glittered in the late afternoon sun. I smiled in spite of everything. I had the feeling it was going to be a very good weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! I'm trying to get as much written as I can. I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this. More to come soon!


	3. Trevor Talks Too Much

Chapter 3 - Aleks

Joe and I had been sent out on grocery duty with a list of food to buy. It was a pretty hefty list, considering we were all grown men and therefore had huge appetites. We were all supposed to go together, hence the reason for having another car, but the rest of them claimed to be too tired.

“He said to get the store brand marshmallows, right?” Joe asked, crouching to look at the marshmallow selection.

“Yep, something about them being cheaper.” I agreed, not fully paying attention. I wanted to get James something extra to make up for being mopey the entire day, but I couldn’t think of what to get him.

And then, out of the corner of my eye - 

“Squiggly cup.” Joe said, reading my mind. Sure enough, there was an entire bin of what James called ‘squiggly cups’ - basically just tall cups with twists in them and a long straw. I briefly recalled his brief explanation of the requirements of a squiggly cup. This seemed to fit them all.

“I bet James would love to have another one to put in videos. He was talking about needing one for his house and one for the Cow Chop house.” I was already walking toward them, snatching the one off the top of the pile. Joe was already done paying attention to them, reading off what we needed next from the list.

I grabbed the cup and stuck it in the cart with the stuff I was buying with my own money.

\-----

A whole hour later, Joe and I made it out of the store with two carts loaded full of stuff. Food, toilet paper, you name it. It took effort, but we fit it all in James’s car.

“So James mentioned you were being quiet earlier.” Joe said from the passenger seat as we started back toward the cabin. I sighed, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. Of course James had to share his observations with Joe. Joe wouldn’t let things go until he knew what was wrong with you. It was part of his unending kindness.

“I’m just tired is all. I’m sure I’ll be headed to bed early tonight.” I gave the same excuse as earlier, really wanting to shift the topic of conversation. Joe made a quiet noise and gave it up - or at least seemed to.

And then, a few minutes later, “He told me Amelia broke up with you last night.”

Again with the Amelia thing. I’d almost let myself forget about it. Sadness crept back into my bones and I suddenly felt very, very tired and ready to climb into bed. My silence must have given something away, because I could feel Joe staring worriedly at me.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked quietly.

“Not really.” I replied, keeping my eyes on the road. He made another noise, this one slightly sadder, and I felt him finally look away from me.

He left me in peace until we got back to the cabin. Trevor was waiting at the door to help us carry everything in, so it didn’t take too long. The kitchen floor was covered in bags, so many that it was hard to see the tile underneath.

“Damn, look at all that food.” James chortled from the top of the stairs. His voice made goosebumps rise up on my arms. I rubbed at them, furrowing my eyebrows. What the fuck was wrong with me?

He came down to help put everything away, humming something under his breath as he did so. I turned away, unwilling to look at him in case my body decided to react in a weird way again. I busied myself putting away all the frozen stuff.

“Holy shit, what is this?” his voice made me jump, dropping a box of frozen mozzarella sticks. I turned. He was holding the bright green squiggly cup in his hand. His face was lit up like I’d just stuck a baby corgi in each hand.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot. They had a whole stack of them, so I got you one.” I said, reaching to pick up my dropped box.

“Aleksandr! That’s so nice!” James was already running to the sink to wash it out, still beaming brightly. “And it’s the same color as my other one!”

For the first time that day, I managed a genuine, real smile. I glanced around, suddenly making direct eye contact with Joe. He had one eyebrow raised, looking at me questioningly. I looked away immediately, the smile sliding from my face.

\----

We were sitting in front of the fire place now, taking turns sticking marshmallows into the fire and making s’mores. James was sipping water from his squiggly cup, seemingly still elated with the idea of having another one. We had a movie on the TV, but I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was. We had it on mute because we were all talking over it anyway.

We’d been sitting in comfortable, warm silence for a little bit now. Joe was seated on the floor, letting Mishka and Ein lick marshmallow from his fingertips.

“So I was apparently the last to know about Amelia.” Trevor said out of nowhere, looking at me. Despite being underage, we’d let him have a beer or two, and it was starting to make his face pink.

I cast glares at James, Joe, and Aron, who all refused to look at me.

“Yep. Said I was spending too much time with you fuckers.” I took a swig of my own beer and tossed the remainder of my third s’more into the fire.

“James said you said she said that you were also spending too much time with James.” Trevor replied. His finger was stuck in the beer bottle, so he pointed at me with the butt of the bottle. A lump was rising in my throat suddenly. I glanced at James out of the corner of my eye. He was studying his marshmallow a little too closely.

“Yeah.” Was all I could supply.

“She’s not wrong, you know. You do spend a lot of time together. A lot more than you spend with the rest of us.”

“Trevor.” James warned, all traces of a smile gone from his face.

“What are you, gay for each other or something?”


	4. Failed Confrontation

Chapter 4 - James

 

Never has a room been so full of awkward.

Aron and Joe looked back and forth between Aleks and I, eyes wide and waiting.

“What the fuck, Trevor?” Aleks was on his feet, suddenly, raising his arms and slapping them back against his legs. “Why the fuck would you even suggest something like that? James is my best fucking friend. He always has been. We’ve been attached at the hip since day one.”

A funny feeling burst in my chest at these words. Aleks had called me his best friend before, but for some reason, it felt different this time.

“But you’ve been spending even more time -” 

“We have not! Even if we were, so fucking what? We just ditched half of our original friend group. We rely on each other for support.” Aleks was getting very red in the face, finger jabbing into the air repeatedly. Trevor didn’t seem to want to back down, standing up too. I knew we shouldn’t have let him have the third beer. Trevor didn’t seem like he could hold alcohol very well.

“Yeah? Well your girlfriend fucking dumped your sorry ass, so obviously she sensed it too.”

Stunned silence. I stared between them, waiting.

Aleks turned on his heel and stormed away, throwing his empty beer bottle down on the couch. It bounced against the leather and onto the floor, but didn’t break. I watched him retreat up the stairs. Waited. Listened to the door slam.

I blew out a long breath, still staring at the top of the stairs.

“He didn’t try to say he wasn’t gay again.” Trevor slurred, flopping back down on the couch.

“Trevor, seriously, drop it.” Joe muttered.

My mind was reeling. Aleks had been so defensive about it. Aleks never got like that. Aleks was upset over a breakup. Aleks never got like that either.

Shit.

I looked down at the squiggly cup in my hands. He’d picked it up just for me…

Fuck.

What was I supposed to do with the information at hand?

\----

We spent about another half hour downstairs. Trevor passed out on the couch almost immediately. Joe and Aron tried to start another conversation, but kept trailing off. I could feel them both look at me occasionally, waiting for me to do something.

“Alright, I’m gonna hit the hay. See you guys in the morning. I can make pancakes.” Joe yawned, getting to his feet. Aron followed soon after, leaving me sitting in the crook of the couch, still trying to process.

I finally made myself get up. Mishka and Ein got up with me. I mechanically walked up the stairs and down the hall. The space between the floor and the door to our room was dark. I opened the door slowly and quietly.

Aleks was in the top bunk. I could barely make out his figure underneath a pile of blankets. I recalled him usually getting cold at night. Maybe it was the Russian in him. Mishka, unable to climb ladder-steps, was content to curl up near his suitcase on the floor. I lifted Ein up onto my bottom bunk and she turned a few times before she laid at the foot.

I methodically got ready for bed, taking my pajamas to the bathroom and closing the door before I turned the light on, in case he was already asleep. I brushed my teeth and changed, leaving my other clothes on the countertop. I turned the light off and opened the door. He hadn’t moved at all.

I climbed into the bottom bunk, toes curling in pleasure at the feeling of soft, silky, clean sheets. I could have drifted off to sleep right then and there, if it hadn’t been for the thoughts still racing through my head. Ein nosed her way up until she was pressed against my side, adding another small layer of warmth.

A sniffle from above. So he probably wasn’t asleep.

“Aleks,” I said into the darkness. No answer. I gritted my teeth, trying to convince myself not to try again. “Aleksandr.”

“I’m trying to sleep, James.” his voice was trembling. I felt my heart twinge a little at the sound. I considered shutting up and letting him deal with it on his own, like he wanted me to.

“Are you crying?” I asked instead.

No answer.

“Aleksandr.”

“No, I’m not fucking crying. Will you let me go to sleep?” he sounded muffled now, like he had something over his face. I could still hear the tremble in his voice.

I sighed.

“Let me help you. Please. You’re obviously upset.”

“Oh my god, what is it with you people? I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine. I’m tired and I want to go to sleep so that I can stop being what you seem to think is ‘sad’.”

The twinge of sadness and sympathy was gone now. Fine. If the fucker didn’t want my comfort, he wouldn’t get it.

“Fine, Aleks. Whatever. Go to sleep.”

I turned over, pulling a pillow over my head and resisting the urge to scream bloody murder into it.


	5. Joe the Saint

Chapter 5 - Aleks

I awoke to the sounds of Mishka whining. I managed to pry my eyes open slowly. My eyelids felt like they were made of cement.

It was pitch dark in the room. James was snoring softly in the bottom bunk. Mishka whined again and I heard her paw the door. I sighed and sat up. There was a small crack of light underneath the door and I could just make her out, standing there staring at me.

I climbed down from the top bunk and walked over to the door. I winced at the light of the hallway. Mishka bolted from the room and down the stairs. Ein followed, sensing we were going toward the door.

I let her out, uncaring about taking a leash. She knew not to stray too far. And as long as she didn’t go anywhere, neither would Ein.

I turned on the outdoor light and went to sit on the top step of the back porch. I could see the sun way off on the horizon, threatening to start rising. I glanced down at my watch, which I’d forgotten to take off the night before. Five in the morning.

“Oh, it’s you.” Joe’s groggy voice made me almost fall completely off the step. I twisted to look at him, scowling.

“Jesus, Joe, thanks for the heart attack.”

“Sorry, I heard the door open and had to come make sure no one broke in.” he rubbed his eyes, walking to sit next to me. His hair was incredibly fluffy and splayed all over the place. He had pillow lines on his cheek.

We sat quietly on the steps and watched Mishka and Ein sniff around for a bit. I could tell Joe wanted to start talking and ask me about the night before. Instead, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer, rubbing the top of my arm. The movement was so sincere that I had to fight tears for the second time in less than twelve hours.

“Are you okay? I worried about you after you left.” Joe said quietly, looking over at me. I stared at my dog, watching her fluffy Keeshond tail wag.

“I’m okay.” I managed.

“Why’d you get so defensive? Trevor was just drunk.”

I couldn’t answer that. I didn’t know. All I knew was that I couldn’t make myself deny anything, so I lashed out instead.

“I don’t know.” my voice broke and I cursed myself internally.

“Hey.” Joe frowned and wrapped his other arm around me, pulling me in like an octopus. I let myself be finagled into a hug. My face ended up in the space between his jaw and his shoulder, forehead semi-pressed to his neck.

The crickets felt too loud. Joe’s body heat felt like too much. I could feel myself breaking down, the will to hold myself back thinning.

“Aleks, you know you’ll be one of my best friends no matter what, right? And you can tell me anything.” I felt Joe’s hand smooth through my hair. I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Amelia…” I started, cutting myself off when I couldn’t think about what to say next. We both knew that I wasn’t acting this way over Amelia.

“Mmhm?”

“Do _you_ think I’ve been spending too much time with James?” I asked softly. I grasped onto the back of his t-shirt, knuckles aching. He went silent, seeming to ponder this for a minute.

“Maybe. You just seem to always be together, is all. Joined at the hip, like you said earlier. But I don’t think ‘too much’ is the word. I just think…” He squeezed me, pausing. “I just think you might have stronger feelings for him than you think. The way you look at him sometimes. The way you smile when he talks to you. The way you can spend so much time together without hating each other.”

“Shit. Do you think he’s noticed? There’s no way he hasn’t noticed, if you and Trevor both have.” my eyes were welling now, and I bit down so hard on my lip that I tasted blood.

“No -”

“He had to have noticed, Joe. Especially since I did nothing to correct Trevor. And then I bolted like a pussy. And Jesus, he’s probably so mad at me now.”

“What?”

“He tried to talk to me last night and I shut him down. I was sort of having a minor crisis.” I pulled away from Joe, grinding the heels of my hands into my eyes. Joe’s hand found my back, rubbing ever-so-gently.

“I don’t think he’s mad. I don’t think James has the ability to be mad at you.” Joe countered.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I looked over at Joe. He was smiling a little.

“I don’t think he’s noticed, and I don’t think he’s mad. Because I think he feels the exact same way you do about him.”


	6. A Case of the Feels

Chapter 6 - James

Normally, Ein would act as my alarm clock, begging to be let out first thing in the morning. But today, I woke up on my own. I opened my eyes, confused for a moment until I remembered where I was. I turned over, glancing at the floor. Both dogs were gone.

I rolled back over and grabbed my phone. It was nearing nine o’clock. I could hear the shower on in the bathroom.

I dragged myself up, changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. And, of course, my plain black beanie.

I emerged from the room and glanced over the balcony. Ein was rolling around on the rug in the living room. Aleks and Joe were in the kitchen. Joe was flipping pancakes and Aleks was perched on the edge of the counter.

The night before surged back to me in a tidal wave and I felt my stomach drop.

I stared at Aleks, thankful he hadn’t noticed me yet. He was smiling, but I could tell from all the way at the top of the stairs that it wasn’t genuine. Aleks’ smile, when genuine, was like watching a thousand Christmas trees light up at the same time.

Wait… what?

I furrowed my eyebrows. Where did that poetic, sappy shit come from?

He reached up and smoothed his fingers through his hair, pushing it toward the back of his head. His eyes looked tired and I could see traces of what seemed like tears.

As I went to take the first step down the stairs, he looked up, making direct eye contact with me.

And it all clicked into place.

_I was in love with Aleksandr._

I tripped slightly, grabbing onto the banister so I wouldn’t fall down the stairs. I could feel my heart surging up toward my throat. I wanted to let out a scream. I wanted to turn and run. I wanted to get in my car and drive all the way back to Littleton. Across the country. Across the world. Anywhere but right here.

“James? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Aron was suddenly at my side, holding onto my arm. His hair was damp and he only had his hoodie half on.

“What?” I blinked, eyes trying to focus on him.

“You let out this really loud groan. Like you were pain or something.” Joe was suddenly there, too, standing a few stairs down. He still had the spatula in his hand.

“I did?” I had a headache all of the sudden.

Aleks was standing at the bottom of the stairs, worry written across his face. I couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Come on, come sit down. Are you dizzy?” Joe handed the spatula down to Aleks and went to my other side. Aron and Joe led me to the couch. I sat down.

“No… I don’t know…” I rubbed at my temples.

“Do you have a migraine?” Joe was feeling my forehead.

“I think I’m starting to.” I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back against the couch.

“I’ll get some aspirin.” Aron jogged away, tugging the other half of his hoodie on.

\----

We were all outside now. Breakfast had been consumed. Aspirin had been consumed. Joe and Aleks were down on the dock, sitting with their feet dangling over the lake. It was too cold to get in and swim, but they kept sticking their toes in.

Trevor hadn’t emerged from his room yet, probably hung over, even though he’d only had about four beers in total. Aron was sitting next to me on the porch swing, rubbing Ein’s stomach as she sprawled out between us. Mishka was with the other two, wagging her tail and smelling the edges of the old dock.

“So what happened?” Aron asked, looking up at me. I sighed.

“I’m not sure. One second, I was fine. Then the next thing I knew, I didn’t feel okay.” I still had the remnants of a headache, and my chest hurt. I really didn’t want to look at Aleks. He seemed content giving me space, sending me weird looks every once in awhile.

“Aleks said he made eye contact with you and suddenly you looked like you were having a heart attack.” Aron pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his head against his knees. I didn’t respond, watching the back of Aleks’ head.

A small breeze blew. I pulled my jacket sleeves down over my hands and crossed my arms.

“Did he say anything last night? After he stormed off?” Aron asked.

“Not really. But I’m a hundred percent sure he was upset. He wouldn’t talk to me. I think he might think I’m mad at him. I sort of got a little snappy right before we went to sleep.” I closed my eyes, wishing I could just rewind. I didn’t want these feelings.

I had never had feelings for a guy before. Ever. I mean, I didn’t really have feelings for girls, either, but still. I couldn’t be in love with my best friend. It would surely ruin everything.

“Joe and I have a theory.” Aron muttered next to me. I opened my eyes, glancing sideways at him. He was staring off at the lake.

“What’s that?” I didn’t really want to know, but curiosity got the best of me.

“We think he’s definitely in love with you.”


	7. Careful Avoidance

Chapter 7 - Aleks

There was a breeze coming off the lake that made me wish I had worn triple layers. I could walk back inside and put another coat on or grab a blanket, but that would mean walking past James. And that was something I didn’t want to do right now.

“You really think he likes me?” I heard myself ask. Joe nodded, hair whipping around in the wind.

“Aron and I have both noticed. We ship you, actually.” He laughed, burrowing down in his coat like a turtle.

I glanced over my shoulder. James and Aron were talking up on the porch, swinging gently on the porch swing. James had his eyebrows furrowed and Aron was nodding as he spoke. James looked at me suddenly, and we met eyes.

His face softened instantly and we held it for a second before I whirled back around, heart hammering in my chest.

“Fuck me.” I sighed gently.

“That’s James’ job.” Joe giggled. I elbowed him in the ribs. He giggled harder.

Mishka brushed against my back. I reached to pet her and she nuzzled into my hand. Joe smiled, scratching behind her ears.

“Gooooood dog.” he cooed. She licked my shoulder once and turned to jaunt up the steps. I watched Ein jump down from the swing to meet her. They sniffed each other for a moment, and then Mishka took off again, toward the trees, and Ein followed.

“At least it’s peaceful out here.” I sighed, pulling my knees to my chest. I pulled my socks and shoes back on.

“I’m gonna go talk to Aron and James real quick. Be right back.” Joe got up, patting me on the shoulder.

A few minutes later, someone sat down next to me on the dock. I glanced over. Those weren’t Joe’s shorts. I looked up. It was Trevor, and his eyes were so sad that I thought he might tip over and drown himself in the lake.

“Hey.” he said gently. I nodded once and looked back out at the water.

“Hey.”  
“I’m so sorry about last night, Aleks. I hardly remembered, but Joe and Aron filled me in. I knew I’d been stupid, but not that stupid. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said,” he reached out, grabbing the edge of my sleeve. “Please forgive me. I really didn’t mean it. I was drunk and stupid.”

I sighed. Sometimes I forgot how young Trevor really was.

“Don’t worry about it, dude.” I said, looking at him. He gave a small smile and shifted closer to me. I rolled my eyes and held my arms out. He collapsed into the hug, holding me back tightly. We remained there for a moment, his breath gentle against my neck.

“I need to learn how to hold my alcohol.” he chuckled quietly. I snorted, patting his face.

“Yeah, we’ll work on it.”

“Hey, question.” he pulled back, straightening his clothes.

“Shoot.”

“What happened this morning?”

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Joe and Aron were talking to each other inside when I came out. I heard something about you and James.”

Ice shot through my veins. A quick look over my shoulder revealed James stretched out across the porch swing, staring out at the water. Aron and James were nowhere to be seen.

“Uh… I’m not sure, really.” And it wasn’t a lie. Were they comparing notes? Sharing their findings? I envisioned Aron sitting down with James and talking about how much I was fawning over him.

Without really realizing, I got to my feet and started back to the house. I tugged my hood up over my head, hugging myself for warmth. It wasn’t quite noon, so the cold was still very much present.

I didn’t really look at James as I passed him for the door, choosing to stare at my shoes instead.

Inside, it was warm and completely quiet. Aron and Joe were standing in the kitchen, both with a look on their face that screamed, ‘caught’. I toed off my shoes and shuffled over, pulling my hood back down.

“What’s going on?” I asked nonchalantly, reaching for a water glass.

“Aron and I were just… talking.” Joe gave a sheepish smile.

“What do you know?” I asked, looking directly at Aron. He glanced back and forth between Joe and I, looking ready to bolt.

“Just… some stuff.”

“Are we gonna start thinking about lunch soon, or what?” James’ voice rang through the house like a bell. He was pulling off his jacket at the door. Trevor was on the porch, calling the dogs in. Aron, looking relieved for the distraction, started talking about making tacos.

I sent Joe a look and he returned it with a shrug.

“Hey, Aleks.” James said without warning. I whirled to look at him. He was suddenly closer now, almost directly behind me.

“Yeah?” my voice sounded weak and quiet.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you were wondering (you probably weren't), this is what I've been listening to when I write. It's a pretty random selection of songs, but for some reason, I get inspired when I listen to it.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1aSLzKNPrxG7yjH7HKIhQ4VHJ934CnoW


	8. Confession Central

Chapter 8 - James

 

I could see something like fear in Aleks’ eyes, but he nodded slowly.

“Yeah. Sure. Of course.”

“Cool.” I started toward the stairs. I heard him start to follow behind. My heart was hammering in my chest, so rapidly that I thought for sure he could hear it if he stood too close.

I led him up to our room. He closed the door behind himself, leaning up against it. I sat down on the edge of my bed. Neither of us spoke for a moment, watching each other and waiting. I cleared my throat.

“So I think it’s pretty clear we’ve been avoiding each other since last night.” I started. He looked away, out the window.

“Yeah.” He murmured.

“Why?” I asked. His eyes snapped back to mine.

“You seemed pretty mad at me last night. I wanted to give you some space. What about you? Why have you been avoiding me?” He spoke quickly, sounding nervous. A hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing.

I took a deep breath. I couldn’t do it. Telling him would ruin everything. Aron and Joe had to have been wrong. There was no way my best friend was in love with me.

“I can’t tell you, Aleksandr.”

“What do you mean, you can’t tell me? What did I do? Did I make you mad because I didn’t want you to see me crying my eyes out like a little kid?” His nervousness changed to slight anger and he pushed off the door, crossing his arms.

“Why were you crying, Aleks?” I refused to let myself get angry. It would help neither of us if this ended in a yelling match. 

He went completely blank at this question, rigid posture going slack. He turned away from me, walking over to the rolling chair that sat at the desk. He sat down, rubbing his hands over his face.

“It was nothing. I was a little buzzed and Trevor was making me mad.” I could hear the bold-faced lie in his voice.

“Tell me the truth.” I demanded.

“You first, asshole! You bring up the fact that we’re avoiding each other, and you say, ‘I can’t tell you’ when I ask about it? Jesus Christ!” He was on his feet again, jabbing his finger at me. His face was turning red.

“Aleksandr -”

“Don’t ‘Aleksandr’ me! What do you have to say to me? If you hate me, just get it over with, okay? Just fucking kill me so I can take Joe’s car and get the fuck out of here.” He was pacing back and forth now.

“Aleks!”

“What?!” he stopped, throwing his hands up.

“Will you shut up for a second and sit down?” I motioned toward the chair. He seemed to calm down again, slumping back into the chair. “I’m not mad at you. And I definitely don’t hate you. I can’t tell you what’s going on because I’m worried it’s going to ruin us. I’ve been hearing Joe and Aron discuss some things.”

His face went completely white.

“Shit. Don’t tell me they told you. Please, god, don’t tell me they told you.” Much to my horror, I watched his eyes fill with tears. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Aleks -”

“Please don’t do this. Whatever they said, don’t listen to them. I can get over it, okay? Please don’t stop being my friend.” His voice was a whimper now. He looked close to getting on the floor and begging on his knees.

“Aleksandr, what are you talking about? I’m not going to stop being your friend.” I got up, walking over to the chair. I grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet and into me. I wrapped my arms around him.

He sobbed into my shoulder, arms immediately going around my middle. He held onto the back of my shirt with both hands, as if scared I was going to let go and leave him standing there.

“I know you’re probably weirded out. I know you are. It’s okay if you don’t want to hang out with me anymore. Just please don’t hate me.” he was a sniffling mess, words so shaky I could hardly understand him.

“Aleks, tell me what you’re talking about.” I begged, rubbing his back.

“You mean they haven’t told you?” He finally let go, pulling back to look at me. His face was bright pink. Tears were cascading down his face. His eyes were puffy.

And he looked beautiful.

“Told me what?” I asked. He backed away, rubbing at his face.

“James…”

“Please, Aleks. Tell me. You’re obviously holding something back. Don’t be so afraid. Whatever it is, it’s not going to make me hate you,” I walked toward him, grabbing his arm. “I could never, ever hate you.”

We stood staring into each other’s eyes for a moment. I held my breath, waiting.

He took a deep breath and let it out.

“James… I think I’m in love with you.”


	9. First Kiss

Chapter 9 - Aleks

 

The room felt so still and silent that you could have heard a ghost farting. The air conditioning wasn’t even on. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I wanted to throw up.

“What?” James asked softly, grip on is arm softening.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” my heart plummeted and I turned to walk out of the room, more tears bubbling to the surface.

He grabbed my hand, yanking me backwards. I had one good look at his face. The light in his eyes.

And then suddenly, we were kissing.

His lips were soft and warm against mine. My eyes closed almost instantly. I felt all the tension drain from my body, and suddenly I felt like a fully-cooked noodle. Had he not been holding onto my wrist, I might have melted through the floorboards.

Our lips stayed glued together for what felt like a blissful eternity. And then, finally, he pulled away, opening his eyes.

A smile slowly grew on his face. His eyes searched my face. He reached out and cupped my face in both hands, brushing the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs.

“I think I’m in love with you too.” his voice was only barely above a whisper. 

The feeling in my chest at that moment can only be described as ‘pure happiness’.

I surged forward, bringing our lips together again. He kissed back just as passionately, still holding my face.

“Jesus Christ, you have no idea how happy that makes me.” I said when we finally pulled away. He grinned, pulling me into a hug.

\----

A few minutes and several kisses later, we emerged from our room and went downstairs. Joe and Aron were still standing in the same spot in the kitchen and they both looked up expectantly when we came down the stairs.

“Are you guys good now?” Joe asked expectantly, giving a hopeful smile.  
Instead of an answer, James tugged me into a quick kiss. I felt the heat rise to my face, but I smiled anyway.

“Oh, shit. I’d say they’re more than okay.” Aron laughed. He held his hand up and Joe high-fived him.

“So I was right.” Trevor said from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder. He had his arms crossed over his chest, a smug smile on his face.

“Oh, shut up, asshole.” James chortled, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me in. Joe ran forward, hugging us both.

“I’m so happy! You guys have been so bummed since we got here, and now we’re all one big happy family again.”

“You guys are like my gay dads now!” Aron was hugging us now too.

“I have to get in on this.” Trevor grabbed us from behind, almost knocking the entire group over.

I felt warmth pool in my stomach and I closed my eyes, resting my head against James’ shoulder. He let out a little happy noise and rested his cheek on my head.

“Alright, now that we’re all lovey-dovey and stuff, let’s get to work on lunch. I’m starved.” Trevor let go, grinning and walking toward the fridge.

\---

We ended up ordering pizza, all of us too lazy to make anything. Joe got to work hooking up the Wii U, claiming he wanted to practice playing Super Mario Maker. I could see the war flashbacks in James’ eyes, but he agreed anyway, laughing about having an aneurysm.

“So does this make you boyfriend and boyfriend?” Aron asked, lying on his stomach on the carpet. James looked at me questioningly.

“Uh, I guess so,” I shrugged. “All I really know is that I don’t want it on the internet yet. Not for a while.”

“I agree. We should probably wait until the channel gets a little more popular,” James nodded, and then gave a satisfied sigh. “My boyfriend, Aleksandr, huh? I like the sound of that.”

“Listen, just to be clear, you can fuck all you want as long as you don’t keep us up all night.” Trevor commented. I felt my face flush, but I laughed along with James, who threw one of the throw pillows at Trevor’s head.

“And spare us as much sappiness as possible.” Joe giggled, flipping the channels on the TV.

“We’ll do our best.” James replied, pressing a kiss to my cheek and laughing when they all groaned.


	10. Aleks Hates Shit on His Face, Dude.

Chapter 10 - James

 

The house was quiet and still.

We’d spent the rest of the day playing Super Mario Maker and other various games, and then I made spaghetti for dinner. Aleks “helped”, which means he sat on the counter and distracted me. But I can’t complain.

Now it was dark, and a hush had settled over the cabin. Joe was passed out on the couch, arm over Mishka. Trevor had dragged himself to bed. Aron was still awake, but nodding off as he watched Aleks fail at the same Super Mario Maker level for the millionth time.

“Aron, bud, why don’t you head up to bed? You’re drifting.” I laughed. He blinked blearily at me and nodded, shuffling off to his room. Aleks hit quit and sat back against the couch, looking at me. We smiled at each other.

“You should take Joe up to his bed and then meet me in our room.” he said slyly, pulling himself off the couch. He leaned down to kiss me and then slunk off toward the stairs, throwing me a wink over his shoulder. Mishka slipped out from underneath Joe’s arm and followed him. Ein was right behind her.

I heaved myself up on the couch and lifted Joe bridal style in my arms. He stirred slightly, groaning and clinging to my neck. I rolled my eyes.

Once I had him tucked into bed, I walked down the hall to our room. I opened the door. Aleks was standing at the side of the room in sweatpants, shirt in hand.

“Changing?” I asked. He smirked, dropping his shirt on top of his suitcase. I walked over, pulling him in by the hips. He met me halfway, bringing our lips together. We kissed gently for a while.

And then I turned up the volume.

I caught his lip between my teeth, tugging lightly. He let out the moan of a porn star, immediately causing a tent to be pitched in my jeans.

“Jesus, Aleksandr.” I laughed. He shut me up with another kiss, tangling his fingers in my hair. I walked him backwards until we were at the bed. Somehow he turned us around, pushing me lightly in the center of my chest. I fell back against the mattress. He was quick to climb on top of me, knees bracketing my hips.

It was my turn to moan as he ground against me. He was equally as hard and eager.

“This is so fucking crazy,” He said in between kisses. “A day ago I didn’t even know I was gay, and now I’m humping my best friend. And liking it way too much.”

“Don’t question it too much.” I said under my breath, sliding my hand down toward the tightness in his sweatpants. His head fell back and he let out another explicit moan. I took it as an advantage, sitting up and propping myself up against the wall. He was straddling my lap now, ass seated firmly against my dick as it throbbed violently through my jeans.

“Prepare for the first blowjob I’ve ever given.” He breathed into my ear.

A few minutes later, I was seeing stars. Aleks’ mouth was like heaven.

“Where do you want it?” I panted, fingers clutching at the comforter. He glanced up at me with glittering eyes and popped off for a second.

“Anywhere but my face. You know I hate shit on my face, dude.”

\----

I pulled Aleks closer, bumping my nose against his. He laughed, tangling our legs together. We’d both been taken care of and cleaned up, and now we were tucked into the bottom bunk together. He’d let Ein and Mishka into the room (he’d thrown them out just before, claiming he didn’t want them to ‘watch’) and they were cuddling together at the of the bed.

“Why didn’t we just figure this shit out earlier?” I asked, reaching to touch his face. He nuzzled into my hand, closing his eyes.

“I know, right? It would have saved me a lot of confusion. You have no idea how many times I would look at you across a room and question why my stomach felt funny. You also have no idea how many times I’d try to sleep with a girl and couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t very into it.”

“Alright, maybe you should spare me the sex stories.” I chuckled, patting his cheek.

We laid in silence for a little while. I listened to his even breathing, felt his chest move against my side. Watched his face as he kept his eyes closed, a small smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth. He looked happier than I’d seen him in a long time.

I reached out, running my fingers along the tattoos he had on his chest. His skin was smooth and soft, like silk under my fingertips. I wanted to put my mouth all over it and leave perfect little purple bruises behind.

“Aleks.” I said quietly. He cracked one eye, looking at me.

“Mmhm?”

“I love you.”

He opened both eyes and sat up a little to give me another kiss. Then he sat back, intertwining our fingers.

“I love you too, James.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone so long! I decided to start American Horror Story and got a little, teeny-tiny bit obsessed. Especially with Tate.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you forgive me! I promise there's more coming soon.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic on Ao3! I love The Creatures/Cow Chop and wanted to write a cute fanfic because I'm NovaHD trash.
> 
> P.S. In case I made it too confusing, the name next to the chapter number at the beginning of every chapter indicates the P.O.V. :)
> 
> Also posted on Wattpad (imakickyoash)


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